Yelena Isinbayeva (1982- ), world and Olympic champion pole vaulter
The Russian pole-vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva, a world and Olympic champion and the holder of numerous world records, has been named the Athlete of the Year by the Russian Sport Journalists’ Federation.
When Ms Isinbayeva appears in a pole-vaulting competition, the stadium falls silent in anticipation of a new record. She has no equal in pole vaulting today (Editor’s note: Ms Isinbayeva is considered by many sport experts as the best female pole-vaulter of all time). Born in Volgograd, Yelena first dreamt of becoming a gymnast. At 11, she held out much promise, honing her skills on the beam and bars to perfection. It was her height that let her down. Yelena grew to be 174 cm tall (5 ft 8 in), a very problematic height for a gymnast. So, she had to give up gymnastics, but, she refused to give up on sport. Yelena was recommended to the pole-vaulting coach Yury Trofimov. In a few years, she became the world’s top pole-vaulter. One of the hardest things for her as she prepares for a jump is to keep calm.
“It’s a difficult situation, but, I like it. The problem is that you have to wait; this is very trying and really stressful. But, on the other hand, when my rivals jump higher, this spurs me on. Better if they jump 4 m 80 cm or 4 m 90 cm, for then it’s easier for me to concentrate on world records. I expect my rivals to do their best and thus help me improve my previous record of 5 m 1 cm”.
This season Ms Isinbayeva did amazingly well. She won all of the 6 Golden League tournaments and shared a one million-dollar jackpot with the American runner Sanya Richards. Yet, she is slightly disappointed because she failed to set her new summer record. At present, all her thoughts are about the Summer Olympics in Beijing. She had her hair cut short and hopes her fans will appreciate her new style. Some may find it interesting to see her met set new records with this haircut because the bangs makes jumping a bit more complicated. But, who knows, maybe this change of image will draw more spectators to my favourite sport.
9 January 2008
Voice of Russia World Service
http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=21295&cid=63&p=09.01.2008 (in Russian and English)
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Very beautiful and talented Athlete
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bravo na teb